Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a system of gas nozzles, for example, pressurized gas injection nozzles, installed in a belt-type separator device to fluidize particles within a belt-type separator system. The present invention may relate to a system comprising pressurized gas injection nozzles installed in a belt-type separator device to fluidize particles in the longitudinal outside edge of the separation zone of a belt-type separator device, for example, a belt separation apparatus, to fluidize a particle mixture to allow for triboelectric charging and subsequent triboelectric separation of the particles that accumulate on one or more edges of the belt separation apparatus.
Discussion of Related Art
Belt separator systems (BSS) are used to separate the constituents of particle mixtures based on the charging of the different constituents by surface contact (i.e., the triboelectric effect). FIG. 1 shows a belt separator system 10 such as is disclosed in commonly-owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,839,032 and 4,874,507, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. One embodiment of belt separator system 10 includes parallel spaced electrodes 12 and 14/16 arranged in a longitudinal direction to define a longitudinal centerline 18, and a belt 20 traveling in the longitudinal direction between the spaced electrodes, parallel to the longitudinal centerline. The belt 20 forms a continuous loop which is driven by a pair of end rollers 22, 24. A particle mixture is loaded onto the belt 20 at a feed area 26 between electrodes 14 and 16. Belt 20 includes counter-current traveling belt segments 28 and 30 moving in opposite directions for transporting the constituents of the particle mixture along the lengths of the electrodes 12 and 14/16. The only moving part of the BSS is the belt 20. The belt is therefore a critical component of the BSS. The belt 20 moves at a high speed, for example, about 40 miles an hour, in an extremely abrasive environment. The two belt segments 28, 30 move in opposite directions, parallel to centerline 18.